Welcome to chapter four everyone! Here's an important notice that you should read. I went back to chapter one and changed Rikaru's werewolf form so skim through that chapter and read that before you read this one. Also, I'm a bit conflicted on if I should change Zola into a werewolf or keep her human in the second story but feel free to give your opinion on that. Now enjoy!
"I'll ask again Rikaru. What are you?" Zola asked while her sword was still pointed towards the werewolf. Rikaru just stood there with his hands in his pockets and stared at her silver blade.
"Answer the question." Konrad said glaring at the werewolf. Rikaru glanced at him and sighed.
"Alright." Rikaru said and he turned to Zola. "Do you believe in supernatural creatures?"
"Nene is a supernatural creature so yes I believe they exist." Zola said and Rikaru nodded.
"True. There are many more kinds that exist and I belong to the species that are known for their 'monstrous' strength and 'savagery' by humans. I'm a being called a werewolf." The group gasped and the Jibral soldiers hid behind Konrad. Zola sheathed her sword and Rikaru sighed in relief.
"So are the stories that I've heard about werewolves true?" Bouquet asked while hiding behind Zola.
"That depends on what stories you were told." Rikaru said shrugging. "I will tell you what's true though. Werewolves are weak against silver and vampires are our natural enemies. We've been enemies for thousands of years and it's still going on today."
"Well Zola's hair is silver. Can you touch that?" Kluke asked and both Rikaru and Zola slightly blushed at that question.
"I don't know Kluke and unless Zola gives her permission, I'm not gonna find out." Rikaru said and Kluke giggled. "I'm pretty sure Zola's sword is made out of silver and I don't want to test if that's true."
"Anything else?" Jiro asked.
"Well, most of the time we're not hostile and savage unless you really piss us off or threaten our loved ones. Even worse when you threaten our offspring."
"So those stories are false." Kluke said and Rikaru nodded.
"Mostly."
"What does your werewolf form look like?" Shu asked and Rikaru looked at him surprised. Instead of being afraid of him, Shu looked at him with an excited grin. He was eager to learn more about werewolves and Konrad smiled. He returned a soldier's sword to him and Rikaru looked slightly uncomfortable.
"I'd be glad to but I would have to strip all my clothes off." Everyone had a 'WTF' look on their faces and Rikaru sighed. "I like this outfit and I don't want it to rip and tear off when I transform."
"Oh." Shu said a bit disappointed and Rikaru thought for a moment.
"However, since my leather hoodie is sleeveless, I can transform one of my arms if you want Shu." Rikaru said and Shu brightened up instantly.
"Really?" Rikaru nodded with a small smile and moved until everyone was in front of him.
"I must give you a warning though. This may be creepy and gross to all of you." Rikaru said and he held out his right arm. He furrowed his eyebrows and gritted his fangs a little as his right arm started transforming. It was mildly spasming with veins bulging as it grew bigger and longer. His fingers grew longer and his claws became more animal like. Black fur started growing at a fast rate and his muscle mass grew. His elongated arm finished transforming and his fingers stopped at his knees. Everyone looked at his right arm in shock and Shu ran over.
"That's so cool!" Shu shouted amazed. He touched it with both hands and ran his fingers through the werewolf's soft fur. Kluke was the next one to walk over to them and she ran one of her hands over Rikaru's enlarged bicep. Marumaro and Bouquet were next and looked at his arm in fascination as Rikaru let their hands roam over his werewolf arm.
"Wow." Bouquet said as she rubbed his fur.
"Maro." Marumaro said in awe as he touched the soft and cushy paw pads in Rikaru's large hand. Jiro walked over and stared at the arm. Rikaru looked over at him and held his hand out. He ruffled Jiro's hair and the young boy could feel how incredible his strength was even though Rikaru was being very gentle. Konrad folded his arms and Zola walked over to him.
"I'm surprised they're not scared." Konrad said.
"Well they know that Rikaru won't hurt them so there's no reason to be scared." Zola said and Rikaru felt a bit awkward with the young shadow wielders exploring his arm but made no move to stop them.
"How strong are you maro?" Marumaro asked.
"Well, I'm strong enough to lift a type one robot from Gran Kingdom with one hand." Rikaru said and they left his arm alone. "There's more."
"More?" Kluke asked confused and Rikaru nodded.
"If you can't stand the sight of blood then I suggest you look away." Rikaru said and he pulled out one of his swords.
"What are you-" Konrad's statement was cut off when Rikaru started cutting a long and deep gash into his transformed arm. The others looked on in horror as he gritted his fangs and growled while cutting himself. When he finished, they saw that Rikaru's fangs were larger than normal and his eyes turned into wolf ones. His scleras were darker than his fur, his pupils disappeared and his golden eyes were glowing.
"Now look at my arm." Rikaru said in a rough voice and they saw that the wound started healing at a fast rate. Rikaru sheathed his sword and after two minutes, the wound was fully healed and the fur grew back where the gash once was.
"Whoa." Jiro said amazed and Rikaru's arm detransformed back into a human one. His eyes returned to normal and his fangs returned to their usual size.
"That's definitely something that we can use to our advantage against Nene." Zola said.
"My wound was able to heal that fast because I had enough stamina to use. If I receive too many wounds and I don't have enough stamina to heal them all then I have to resort to feeding." Rikaru said. "Once I've fed then my wounds will regenerate almost instantly."
"I'm afraid to know what you 'feed' on." Bouquet said.
"Does that include...people?" Shu asked and Rikaru remained silent. His silence was the answer to that question and everyone except Zola backed away from him.
"Sorry but it was either that or bleed to death." Rikaru said and Zola turned to Konrad.
"So what will you do now that Jibral's gone?" Zola asked and Konrad clenched his fists.
"I'll head west, gather some more warriors and we'll strike at Nene." Konrad said and Jiro turned to Zola.
"So what's our next step?" Jiro asked.
"We'll stay here and guard Konrad until he's ready to leave. Then we'll head to the next ruin." Zola said.
"I wish we could go with them." Marumaro said.
"What about Homeron?" Bouquet asked.
"I'm positive that Homeron will be fine." Rikaru said and Zola nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile...
"Hey Captain Gilliam, why do you have us working so hard?" a soldier asked.
"Yeah Todd's right. Why are we doing surveillance when it's hot as hell out here?" another soldier asked. "Shouldn't the robots handle this?"
"Quit complaining Bishop, you too Todd." Gilliam said as all three of them were riding on their flying bird shadows. "I'm pretty sure you know that we can't rely or trust those machines. I'm know you two have heard about the prison that was attacked a few hours ago."
"Yeah what about it?" Bishop asked.
"The ones responsible for the prison attack are shadow wielders. Cynthia and Lemaire failed to stop them so it's up to us to find them and take them down ourselves." Gilliam said.
"Yeah that's all fine and good but I'd rather not waste my time looking for them all day." Todd said and Gilliam smirked.
"You won't have to. I know where they are." Todd and Bishop looked at Gilliam confused. "The group is on the run with exhausted prisoners so they won't be able to get very far so fast. There's only one place near the prison where they can hide like the rats they are."
"Point N345." Bishop said smirking. "Otherwise known as the forest."
"Exactly. I also sent Andropov to attack from the opposite side so we can catch them in a trap."
With the others...
"There they are." Marumaro said.
"Just like Zola said." Shu said.
"Let's see, there are three of them coming in fast." Kluke said using her binoculars.
"Let's get them maro!" Marumaro shouted and the three of them summoned their shadows.
"Okay so we just need to stop them right here." Kluke said until Gilliam, Todd and Bishop flew past them.
"Oh I'm sorry but we're taking down the prisoners first." Gilliam said and his shadow shot its feathers at them. Bouquet summoned her shadow and they transformed into a large pink brick shelter.
"Hurry and get in." Bouquet said and the soldiers rushed inside.
"We need to stop him." Marumaro said.
"I'll gladly take him on in a fair fight." Saber Tiger said and Gilliam chuckled.
"Fighting fairly isn't really my style. I'd rather be ruthless!" Gilliam shouted and his shadow shot more feathers at Marumaro.
"This has certainly turned into one big mess." Rikaru said with his hands casually in the pockets of his leather hoodie.
"Conquer!" Jiro shouted and Minotaur shot a bolt of lightning from his horns at Todd and Bishop's shadows but they dodged.
"Ray Stinger!" Killer Bat shot twin gold beams at Todd and Bishop's shadows but they dodged again. Zola looked at Rikaru. "Feel free to help anytime."
"I don't have that much experience against shadows that can fly but I can slow them down." Rikaru said shrugging.
"That would be very much appreciated here." Minotaur said and Rikaru summoned his shadow.
"These shadows are swiftly and annoyingly buzzing around like hummingbirds on a sugar rush. Can you kindly calm them down for Zola and Jiro Winter Wolf?" Rikaru asked and Winter Wolf chuckled. "Arctic Wind!"
"With pleasure." Winter Wolf said and he blew out a strong blast of cold air that started to spread out. Todd and Bishop's shadows were caught in it and they started shivering. Their speed was cut in half and Rikaru smirked.
"Man that looks chilly." Rikaru joked and Zola shook her head. It was amusing to hear the werewolf joke like this during battle.
"Nice one. Conquer!" Jiro shouted and Minotaur shot another bolt of lightning at Bishop's shadow. Due to his shadows speed being reduced, the lightning bolt hit his shadow and they fell to the ground.
"Bishop no!" Todd shouted and Zola tossed Konrad her sword. He caught it by its sheath and looked at Zola confused.
"Use it well. I can tell you wanted to join in." Zola said and Konrad smiled. Blue Dragon shot a stream of fire at Todd and but his shadow managed to get out the way in time. Rikaru looked up to see Gilliam's shadow fall and smirked. Winter Wolf stopped blowing the icy wind and disappeared.
"Captain Gilliam's down too?" Todd said shocked and Konrad appeared behind him.
"You're next." Konrad said and he slashed Todd's shadow.
"We need you Andropov." Gilliam said.
"Sorry but your damage meter is in the yellow zone. You must withdraw now or you'll be defeated." Andropov said over the communicator and Gilliam gritted his teeth. He resummoned his shadow and flew away with Todd and Bishop following. Everyone's shadows disappeared and Konrad returned Zola's sword to her.
"Yeah that's right! Keep running!" Shu shouted and the Jibral soldiers cheered.
"You say you don't have much experience with fighting shadows that can fly yet you managed to turn to tide into our favor." Zola said and Rikaru shrugged.
"Yeah well..." Rikaru trailed off and Zola sighed.
"Nice work." Zola said smiling and Rikaru lightly blushed. She looked so beautiful when she smiled and Rikaru felt his heart skip a beat.
"Y-Yeah no problem." Rikaru said and he growled slightly at letting his enemy's beauty get to him.
This chapter is done! Score! Read and Review!